Spa Cycles XD-2 touring chainset

[ricksavery]

Was thinking of upgrading my old Shimano Alivio chainset to the Deore LX but then I saw this

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s109p2000&i=2282

Very good price, but I'm always a bit doubtful when things look too good to be true. Any thoughts please?

 

[style over speed]

they only have shorter cranks:

165mm 48/38/28, 170mm 48/38/28

 

[ricksavery]

It was mainly whether it has a good quality of construction or not. Would the fact that it has a 28 inner ring - I have a 22 at the moment - make a huge difference to my twiddly hill-climb gear?

 

[andrew_s]

They look like good chainsets, and a bargain at that price.
They are a different alloy than Sugino XD2, but may still come from Sugino. We'd need someone to check the back of the crank for the giveaway XD2 marking, like the Stronglight Impact has.

28 will give a noticeably higher bottom gear than 22. You could replace the 28 with a 24, but that's the smallest the cranks will take.

 

[PpPete]

Looks like excellent value to me.
Wouldnt take their advice on the BB though. JP400 do not have a good rep. Fit a Shimano UN 54 instead.

 

[ricksavery]

They do look good value, I agree. I am concerned about the small chainring though. If I replace my Shimano with this one and end up with a higher lower gear (if you see what I mean) then it becomes less useful for nasty hills, which makes me wonder why they would use a 28 if it was for touring?

 

[PpPete]

For me 48/38/26 is about right for touring. With an 11-32 cassette you have a huge range of gearing with a 22" low end that will get you up almost anything.

With a 22T chainring and an 11-32 at the back you are down to a low of 18" ..... less than walking pace at 60 rpm. Would a heavily laden bike be controllable at that speed?

 

[ricksavery]

Don't know, never tried it, but I suspect you're right. At the moment I have Shimano Alivio set up with a lowest gear of 21.3" (22 front and 28 rear). This was used during a tour of Cornwall on my old bike - the hills were steeper than I remember them as a kid. With a 28 front, even a 34 rear does not get as low a gear. I am not the fittest bloke in the world, and I know that without that low gear in Cornwall I would have been walking more than I did. So for me, it's not whether a 22 front gives and insanely low gear that would probably never be used, but if a 28 front would still be worth changing to, given that it raises the low gear, albeit slightly.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I think the chainset looks very good value for money. Having a 34 tooth cog on the rear would only raise your lowest gear slightly. Although of course it may also involve the expense of a new derailleur.
I am happy to go with what Spa Cycles recommend, they are a top outfit. If they say it's good value, it is in my book.